Africanism (Feat. Egypt 80)

Description

These sessions lasted only two days, and we can only imagine the atmosphere in that room when the godfathers of hip-hop traded Harlem congas for the explosive sounds of authentic Afrobeat. Once finished, the recordings and momentum returned to Prince Fatty's studio, since moved from Brighton to southeast London. This was the third stage of the project, and who better to fill the rhythm tracks than two key musicians from Seun Anikulapo Kuti's Egypt80 band? Enter guitarist Akinola Adio Oyebola and bassist Kunle Justice, who upon hearing Allen's signature grooves exclaimed, "oh, the Father, we are home!". Such joy and enthusiasm resulted in the perfect fusion of Nigerian Afrobeat and revolutionary poetry, but the album's vision was not yet complete. He wanted to create a new kind of soundscape—one that would reunite the Poets with the progressive jazz movement they had once shared with musicians like Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. That's when they recruited exciting UK-based jazz talents like Joe Armon Jones of the Ezra Collective, the widely acclaimed producer/remixer and keyboardist Kaidi Tatham, who has been compared to Herbie Hancock, and British jazz legend Courtney Pine, whose saxophone genius and influence on the now vibrant UK jazz scene are undeniable. The instrumental tracks on Africanism are in many ways as revealing and exciting as those of the Last Poets. It is important to remember that the kaleidoscope of styles and influences presented here is not the result of samples but was played "live" by musicians responding to sounds produced by other musicians. That is where the magic comes from, aided by Prince Fatty's unmatched mixing, which allows us to hear everything with such clarity. Today's music fans have grown accustomed to listening to all kinds of different genres. Their tastes have never been so broad and comprehensive, and the music on this new album by the Last Poets is as revolutionary as their lyrics, and perfectly suited to the times we currently live in.